


The Natural Progression of Such Things

by Cori Lannam (corilannam)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M, PWP, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-05-15
Updated: 2009-05-15
Packaged: 2017-10-03 04:38:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corilannam/pseuds/Cori%20Lannam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Somewhat by accident, Merlin finds his duty roster expanding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Natural Progression of Such Things

It started in the most natural way possible, at least to Merlin's way of thinking. It was already an instant too late when it occurred to him that Arthur might not agree.

Growing up in Ealdor, in the long, hot summers, the best part of the day was always the chance to rinse off the sweat of a hard day's work in the cool river. All the men of the surrounding villages would gather, and when the older men had gone home to their families, the younger men would stay to shout and splash and roughhouse in the water.

And often enough, it happened that someone's cock would stand up and join the game. As soon as it was noticed, everyone else would hoot and make a playful grab for the member of interest. The object of the chase would make a show of dodging the attack, and if he made it out of the water, no one would pursue.

But more times than not, he let himself be caught and have his problem taken care of by a friendly hand or mouth. Merlin himself had enjoyed any number of satisfying wanks and sucks, both given and received, throughout his adolescence.

This was why he hadn't thought anything of it for one crucial instant when Arthur stood up from his bath and a certain part of Arthur proved to be standing with him. It had been nothing but second nature to grin and make a playful grab for the half-hard shaft.

In the next instant, his brain finally caught up with his hand. It left him standing there, staring at his prince with his fingers wrapped firmly around the royal appendage. He could hear the whistle and thunk of the chopping block, but his hand remained frozen around princely flesh as he stared into wide blue eyes.

After a long, shock-filled moment, Arthur raised his eyebrows and cleared his throat. "I don't normally request this sort of service," he said. "But I suppose I wouldn't say no."

Merlin raised his eyebrows in return. Slowly, he realized that the captured member had gone from half-hard to rigid in his hand.

He gave it an experimental tug. When Arthur hissed through his teeth, Merlin cleared his own throat. "Best step out of the bath, then."

Arthur climbed out of the water with great care, seeing as Merlin was pulling him by his dick. He gingerly propped himself on the edge of the bathtub, and the downward tug on his wrist prompted Merlin to drop to his knees at Arthur's feet. Normally such a position would only give Arthur delusions of grandeur, in Merlin's opinion, but for the opportunity to suck Arthur's cock, Merlin supposed he could deal with any necessary readjustment of Arthur's attitude afterwards.

He settled himself carefully between Arthur's thighs, then hesitated. He could feel himself blushing, which seemed idiotic given that he still had Arthur's enthusiastic cock in his hand. A glance upward showed him that Arthur's eyes were still wide. His jaw was a little slack as though he were holding his breath, waiting to see if Merlin was really going to do this.

Since his hand had already begun stroking the swollen flesh, it seemed likely that Merlin was, in fact, going to do this. He lowered his head to get his first close up look at what he was caressing. Arthur's cock was as gorgeous as the rest of him, long and mouth-wateringly thick, flushed and hard. Like he would ever miss the chance to put it through its paces.

Arthur's breath caught as Merlin rubbed his thumb over the dusky head. He reached a hand toward Merlin, then caught himself and pulled back. The hesitation and uncharacteristic lack of presumption made Merlin smile up at him and bend his head a little in silent permission.

Long fingers settled into his hair, petting him before exerting the slightest pressure to draw Merlin's head towards his groin. Merlin was happy to obey the gentle command. Let Arthur feel in charge for these last few seconds before Merlin got his mouth on him.

And Merlin couldn't wait. He might not know much about court manners or sword fighting or even his own magic, but he knew a great deal about sucking cock. Just the thought was making Merlin's own cock stir between his splayed thighs. When at last he bent the rest of the way to take his first taste of Arthur, the jolt of arousal almost hurt as it stiffened him.

Above him, Arthur groaned the way Merlin would have liked to do himself, if he weren't busy mapping Arthur's cock with his tongue. He loosened his grip, holding it delicately at the base with his fingertips as he made his initial survey of the ridges and sweeping lines, every spot hard and soft.

When he was satisfied with his findings, he looked up at Arthur's face again and licked his lips. Then he ignored Arthur's pained grunt and went back to work.

He liked this work. Getting to know Arthur's sexual needs was nice step up from doing his laundry. Unsurprisingly, Arthur liked tight suction around his tip, the wetter the better. He liked it when Merlin toyed with his balls, liked it even better a bit rough. He liked a tight, twisting grip around his base, but he liked it more when Merlin let go and let Arthur thrust forward into his mouth.

All the while Merlin was measuring his progress in the way Arthur's hand moved over Merlin's head, the way his fingers ghosted and twisted through Merlin's hair. Arthur made no more sounds, just tiny hitches in his breathing and one rough inhalation. That was the same moment his fingers tightened and Merlin felt the first pulse of orgasm hitting the back of his throat.

Arthur came for what seemed like forever. Merlin swallowed and sucked and swallowed again before pulling off. Some of Arthur's come dripped from the corner of his mouth and slid down his chin to his throat. He let go of Arthur's cock to catch the come with his fingers. Without thinking, he rubbed it into the tender skin of his own throat, feeling his pulse pound beneath his fingers.

He ducked his head and grit his teeth against the throbbing between his legs that was starting to ache. Propriety had never been a great concern in his relationship with Arthur, but even Merlin knew better than to whip out his cock and rub one out in front of his prince, never mind what else had just happened between them.

It took him a few breaths to realize that Arthur was still touching him. Arthur's fingers drifted along the curve of Merlin's ear, then tweaked the earlobe. Merlin looked up to find Arthur watching him with an odd half smile.

"You'll never make it out of here like that," he said.

Merlin frowned, trying to get his brain to cooperate long enough to suss out what Arthur meant--and what, if anything, he was offering, exactly. His cock throbbed harder. His hand slipped from Arthur's thigh and dropped to cup his own bulging crotch.

Arthur nodded slowly. "You have my permission," he said. "You can take care of yourself. In my presence."

He was still staring up at Arthur, but his fingers were already fumbling at the front of his breeches. His cock tangled in the laces, and he spent a frustrating minute pulling the laces away before his hand could close properly around his stiff flesh.

"Lick your hand first," Arthur said roughly.

Like he didn't know how to jerk himself off. He glared. But Arthur's half smile had quirked into a half grin, which was such a turn-on that Merlin had to make his glare brief as he licked his palm hastily before gripping himself again.

It was better with the wetness, of course, he could admit that--just enough slide to make every stroke heavenly. Obviously he had no hope of lasting long, and he didn't. Only when he'd finished spilling himself over his own hand did he realize that he had been looking up into Arthur's eyes the entire time.

The half smile was gone now. "You're dismissed for the night," Arthur said, rising and stepping past Merlin to pick up his bath sheet.

Merlin picked himself up and slipped out through the main chamber. He hadn't the slightest idea whether he had just won a great victory or made a truly terrible mistake.

***

When he saw Arthur again the next day, it seemed neither of them had figured out the answer to that. They were both careful not to say anything about it. If Arthur gave him sidelong, shuttered glances now and then, Merlin was careful not to say anything about that, either.

It didn't need to be an issue for a while. Arthur normally bathed by himself after training while Merlin was busy with other duties. Only when he washed in the evening before bed did Merlin attend him in the bath chamber.

That usually only happened after a full day of hunting, which Arthur found himself in the mood for eight days later. As always, Merlin found himself trailing after Arthur through the woods, alone except for the various forest creatures running away from them.

Merlin had never really considered their solitude on these trips, except for a vague confusion of annoyance and enjoyment. He felt it more consciously today, as though the woods had shrunk to just the space around the two of them, close and quiet. If Arthur felt anything like it, once again he said nothing.

But no sooner had they dropped off their bloody carcasses to the butchers, than Arthur ordered a bath.

He stood quietly while Merlin undressed him, stepping out of his garments and into the steaming water without looking at Merlin. Merlin did his best to return the favor, but he could hardly help noticing that while Arthur's cock was not hard, nor was it completely quiescent.

Due to a sense of professionalism he rarely got credit for, bathing Arthur proceeded no differently than it ever had. But Merlin found himself acutely aware of every time he touched Arthur. As he scrubbed and rinsed Arthur's hair, he was startled by the sensuality of his fingers sliding through the wet strands, the heat of Arthur's scalp under his fingertips. As Arthur leaned forward to let Merlin scrub what Arthur couldn't reach, Merlin stared for a long moment at the breadth of Arthur's shoulders and the graceful, sweeping line of his back.

There was no surprise for either of them when Arthur rose from the bath. He was hard, and magnificently so. Merlin gave up--he went ahead and just stared, down and then up at Arthur's eyes. Thoughtless bravado had fueled his playfulness the first time, but now his awareness of the situation stilled him into caution.

Arthur met his gaze coolly, then gestured for the bath sheet. Merlin hesitated before he grabbed the sheet and wrapped it around Arthur, who made no move to take it and dry himself as he usually did. So Merlin did his job.

He rubbed the fabric briskly over Arthur's hair, then his body. Not touching Arthur's skin was easy enough, but there was no way to avoid rubbing the sheet over Arthur's hardened nipples, which grew harder at his touch. He probably could have kept from handling Arthur's erection, but by the time he got there, there didn't seem much point in avoiding it. Arthur probably didn't expect him to, and he couldn't deny Arthur's cock felt wonderful even through the soft toweling.

When he was done, he busied himself spreading the bath sheet out to dry. Arthur said nothing, but watched him with an amused look that said Merlin wasn't fooling anyone with this sudden show of tidiness. Merlin returned an affronted glance, then sighed and let the bath sheet fall into a crumpled heap on the floor. At least that felt normal.

The amusement in Arthur's eyes shone, then gave way to something with greater heat. "I'll be in my bedroom," he said, then turned and strode through the connecting door, utterly unselfconscious of his nudity and his arousal.

Merlin took a deep breath before following. As much as he had enjoyed having Arthur at his mercy before, he was just as glad that Arthur had taken control of the situation this time. Merlin only had one decision to make, and he would have to be daft to dither about it when he walked into the bed chamber and saw Arthur sitting on the edge of his bed, waiting.

He managed to look regal and vulnerable at once. And he was waiting. Naked. For Merlin.

Merlin would have done him any service. He knew Arthur had told the truth when he said he wouldn't have asked for it. The gossip of frustrated maids testified that he never had before. But of course, from the beginning Merlin had served his prince in ways Arthur would never have thought to ask for. It was, one might say, a specialty.

He crossed the room to Arthur and dropped to his knees without hesitation. When Arthur's hand slipped into his hair and drew him between Arthur's thighs, he felt perfectly at home.

This time he didn't have to experiment. He knew what Arthur liked--and what pleased Arthur, pleased him, not that Arthur was ever going to find that out in so many words. He lost himself in Arthur's cock and Arthur's fingers and at last the warm proof of Arthur's pleasure that filled Merlin's mouth.

When Arthur was sated and settled, Merlin sat back on his heels. Arthur's hand fell away from Merlin's head, leaving him alone with the needs of his own body.

He looked up at Arthur, knowing his eyes were wild with arousal but not giving much of a damn how he looked. His hand gripped Arthur's knee to keep from plunging down into his breeches. He still needed Arthur's blessing.

That should have been immediate--after all, Merlin hadn't hesitated to give Arthur what he needed. If Merlin's consent had been assumed from the last time, then Arthur's should as well. But Arthur just looked at him as though working something out in his mind. His dim, inbred, overtaxed royal mind.

"Arthur, come on," Merlin finally snapped.

And there was that quirk of a grin again. Merlin could have jerked off just to that.

"Stand up first," Arthur said at last.

A flash of puzzlement cooled the edge of Merlin's ardor. Slowly he pushed himself to his feet, awkward from his erection. His knees wobbled, so he had to use Arthur's thigh as leverage. Arthur bore it with patience, watching him closely but giving no other sign of what he expected next.

Merlin was taller in this position, standing almost between Arthur's knees. He should step back a respectful distance, but he couldn't make himself put any distance between them. Not when his whole body was screaming for a contact he knew he wasn't going to get.

"Give me your hand," Arthur ordered.

Merlin blinked at him, but proffered his hands slowly in the small space between them.

Arthur took Merlin's right hand in both of his and lifted it towards his face. He turned it over as he bent his head. Merlin choked when Arthur's tongue stroked over his palm.

Reflex made him try to snatch his hand back, but Arthur's grip locked like iron around his wrist. At the second wet stroke, Merlin gave up and let his head fall back with a pained sigh. A direct connection had sprung to life between his hand and his cock. He was dying to bring the two together, but Arthur did not release him until he'd almost forgotten that this wasn't the sex act, this slow and thorough bathing.

"There, that will do." Arthur's voice was rough and dry. He let go, leaving Merlin to sway in a daze. "You didn't do enough last time. This will work better."

Merlin stared down at him. The non-aroused part of him wanted to protest what might have seemed like insulting presumption if his cock hadn't been ragingly hard. But it was, and the non-aroused part of him protested at a very great distance. He dismissed it and started to take a step back in preparation.

Arthur stopped him with a touch at his waist, keeping him close. His other hand touched Merlin's wrist, keeping him from lowering his wet hand until Arthur's fingers teased open the ties of Merlin's confining trousers.

For a moment, Merlin was certain that Arthur's fingers would touch him. He waited for it, but the touch didn't come. Merlin's cock sprang free from his breeches, and Arthur withdrew his hand. With the other, he used two fingers to lightly press down on Merlin's wrist.

"Go on, then," he said.

He did, and the bastard was right. The wetter slide of his hand was ecstasy. But the joke was on Arthur, and Merlin gave a shaky laugh with his next stroke. It wasn't the wetness that was sending him into bliss. It was knowing that it was Arthur he felt all over his hand, all over his cock.

Then again, maybe Arthur knew it very well. When Merlin's strokes and gasps signaled the approach of his peak, he felt Arthur's knees press into his thighs. A shock hit him as he realized what he was about to share with Arthur in return, standing so close.

He really meant to step back this time, but that mere thought had already finished his undoing. He came, and there was no stopping the heat ripping through him, no stopping the hot strands of his come from splashing over Arthur's chest and belly. He just couldn't stop, couldn't turn away, couldn't stop coming until he'd painted the whole expanse of his prince, white over pale skin.

At last he took a stumbling step backward, blinking down at Arthur. His cock was still squeezed in his hand. His come clung to the hair on Arthur's chest and the tight peaks of Arthur's nipples, pooled in the hollow of Arthur's navel.

"You may go," Arthur said, but otherwise remained still as a statue.

Merlin hesitated. He fumbled his cock back into his breeches and tightened the laces, then started to reach for the abandoned bath sheet. His hands worked to fulfill the rest of his duty and get Arthur cleaned up, again. His mind was frozen, still locked back in his climax.

Arthur cut him short with a curt shake of his head. "You can go," he said again.

Merlin took another slow step back, looking at Arthur uncertainly as his head cleared enough to grasp the command. Arthur did not drop his gaze, nor did he move a muscle. He merely sat there, nude as an ancient god, Merlin's come still spattered across his skin.

Would he taste it from his fingers once Merlin was gone? Would he rub it into his skin the way Merlin had with his? Or would he merely go back to the bath tub and rinse himself down like it was any ordinary soil?

The door bumped against his back, and Arthur had still given no other sign. Merlin reached behind him and pushed open the door. He paused, looking at Arthur one more time.

Then he turned and slipped out, leaning up against the door when it closed behind him. The ways of princes, he supposed distantly, weren't for the likes of him to know.

***  
The intensity had somewhat faded by the next morning, and he brought Arthur his breakfast with most of his usual cheerful insouciance. Arthur rolled his head on the pillow to look at him with a grimace of annoyance at being woken--or, as Merlin liked to think of it, a stifled outpouring of joy at seeing Merlin's smiling face.

He even managed not to look at the outline of Arthur's body through his white nightshirt as Arthur rose and walked past the bright windows.

Arthur was training with a set of prospective knights all day. Merlin took advantage of the time to take Arthur's clothes down to the laundry--barely managing not to check whether they had been used for any spontaneous toweling the night before--and then run errands for Gaius. He returned to Arthur's chambers mid-morning bearing an armful of clean linen and whistling a tune he'd heard someone singing in the courtyard.

"Is that you? I thought a sparrow was being strangled in the corridor."

He whirled around and almost dropped his load of sheets. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here, Merlin, as I would hope you'd have noticed by now." Arthur leaned casually against the doorway leading into the bathing room, hair damp and tousled, drops of water glistening on his shoulders despite the bath sheet draped over his arm.

It didn't hide much. Merlin cleared his throat and tried to avert his eyes without looking like he was averting his eyes. "I just thought you were training the rest of the afternoon."

Arthur pushed himself upright and strolled casually into the room. He slung the bath sheet over the back of his chair and continued on toward the bed, naked and unabashed. "They were dreadful, but they didn't deserve to be run through with my sword, which is what would have happened if I'd stayed there any longer."

"Sounds like it might be a mercy killing." Merlin tucked the linens into a cupboard, still not looking. "Have you had lunch yet? I'll go fetch you something."

"Merlin," Arthur said with something in his voice that stopped Merlin mid-step. "Come here."

He stopped, turned, and went there. After all, he disregarded so many of Arthur's commands, it only seemed politic to follow one every now and then. He'd save his natural disobedience for when he had less interest in the service Arthur needed.

And he was pretty sure what it was in this case.

He was about to drop to his knees when Arthur made a slight gesture to stop him. "No."

"No?" he repeated.

Arthur smiled. "Not yet. Strip."

His mouth opened, then closed again. Well, this was a little different.

Arthur made another gesture with his fingers toward Merlin's neck. "Go on."

His hands were already lifting to the knot at the back of his neck. The scarf did not give way easily, complicated by his refusal to drop his head. His eyes stayed locked to Arthur's cool blue gaze.

It gave him a jolt to break the contact, even just long enough to get his tunic over his head. The breeches and boots and smallclothes followed in an awkward flurry.

Then he stood there, Arthur's equal at least in their state of undress. Arthur took a small step forward until they stood almost nose to nose, nearly cock to cock. Merlin's cock did not overtly react, but it certainly took notice.

Then Arthur's fingertips brushed his waist, and Merlin's cock took a little harder notice.

"Tell me, Merlin," Arthur said as he skimmed the scant curve of Merlin's hip. "Have you ever been buggered?"

His throat went a little dry. So that's where this was going. Of course.

"Yes," he answered. "Twice."

The first time had been the usual kind of thing. He'd been fooling around in a haystack with a boy he hardly knew from the next village, things got carried away, and he found himself with a cock up his bum. Will had been sore at him for weeks when Merlin had refused to repeat the experience with him �" but enough of Merlin had been sore at the time that he hadn't really cared how Will felt about it. He didn't see Will offering up his own arse for sampling.

The second time had been on his first journey to Camelot, long enough after that the memory of the pain had subsided in favor of the excitement of it. At the end of his first day on the road, he had encountered a knight of independent allegiance who was passing through the lands. The pleasant evening had gotten dark and chilled, and the knight had kindly invited Merlin to share his food and fire.

Merlin hadn't much to share in return, but was happy enough to share his body when the knight had indicated his interest. He'd taken Merlin up against a tree, then they'd pleasured each other in the knight's bedroll until they'd gone their separate ways at daybreak.

"But did you like it?" Arthur asked, fingers digging into Merlin's hip.

"I liked it when they sucked me off after," he answered with a tiny twitch of a shrug.

Arthur grunted. "I won't be sucking you off after."

"Oh, nice," Merlin complained, though it lacked much force. It wasn't like he'd minded seeing to himself after Arthur's pleasure. And more than half his mind was still stuck on the concept of buggery, and specifically on the prospect of Arthur buggering him. He could hardly compare Arthur to some common knight in any regard.

"I won't have to." Arthur bared his teeth and scraped his short fingernails across the soft skin of Merlin's lower back. "You'll come just fine with my cock in your arse."

"Oh, right, then," Merlin replied, and Arthur huffed his amusement.

"Did you think I wouldn't see to your pleasure?" he said.

"Is that what you've been doing?" Merlin said. He decided to leave out his doubt that a cock shoved up his bum was ever going to suffice for his pleasure. Though admittedly, if any cock could, Arthur's probably had a better chance than most. "I thought I was meant to serve you."

"If I decide to pleasure you, then your pleasure serves me." Arthur's reply was cool, almost haughty, but the heat in his eyes was sending another shiver up Merlin's spine.

"Well, anything to serve you," he answered and waited to hear that huffy laugh again.

"Get on the bed," Arthur said. "Face down."

He'd started watching the shift of muscles in Arthur's chest and the soft spot of skin at his collarbone. But then he looked up into Arthur's eyes again. "Yes, my lord," he said slowly, deliberately, and was pleased to see that he could evoke the same shiver in Arthur, ill-hidden even in Arthur's solid frame.

"Get on the bed," Arthur said again.

And this time, Merlin heard and obeyed.

He'd gotten hard without noticing until he stretched out on Arthur's bed with the hard length trapped beneath him. He noticed a lot more when Arthur's weight settled on the back of his thighs.

"You know what your problem is, Merlin." Arthur shifted his weight, and his erection brushed across Merlin's buttocks, dry and searing.

"I'm sure you're about to tell me," Merlin muttered into the mattress.

"Even better, I'm about to show you, since obviously taking instructions has never been your strong suit."

Then his weight shifted again and his hands disappeared. Merlin waited three long seconds before he felt a daub of wet heat directly between his shoulder blades, followed by a longer swipe of Arthur's tongue.

Arthur left a damp trail down Merlin's spine, where the coolness of the air made him squirm. Arthur's hands gripped his sides, keeping him still as Arthur moved lower.

Of course Merlin chose the instant his breath began to stutter to finally say something about this treatment. "Th-this? This is my problem?"

Arthur hummed thoughtfully against Merlin's lower back. "More the solution to your problem, I suppose." He nipped and lapped his way down the crease of Merlin's arse. "I'll admit you're skilled enough at giving me pleasure."

"Thank you," Merlin said, then hissed as Arthur parted his cheeks and blew softly along the crease.

"But when it comes to your own pleasure, you seem embarrassingly incompetent at preparation."

Then he licked wet and heated over Merlin's opening. If Arthur's tongue on his hand had set his skin on fire, that same tongue moving over the entrance of his body was lighting an inferno in his blood. His eyes scrunched shut as Arthur stroked again and again over the hole, then wiggled and pushed inside.

"The other guys used spit, too, you know," he mumbled into the wrinkled sheet under his face.

Arthur withdrew, though not far enough that Merlin couldn't feel his breath as he spoke. "Oh, did they? Then I'm sure this will be nothing new to an old hand like you."

He gave a quick lick across the fleshy curve of Merlin's ass before sitting back. This was already so new, this wet, slippery feeling between his cheeks--almost like Arthur had already possessed him and left the proof of it behind. It made Merlin want to squirm to make the feeling stronger.

A small wiggle was all he managed before Arthur's hand smacked down on his rump. He heard another wet sucking sound, but before he could think about it, Arthur's other hand found him. Specifically, Arthur's wet fingers found Merlin's wet hole and one of them pushed right on in.

"I suppose the other guys used their fingers, too." A second finger immediately began working itself in alongside the first.

"Er." Vaguely, he remembered his first time and the other boy fingering him, a quick fumble as though to remind himself where he was going. It had been nothing at all like this.

"Yes, I'm sure they opened you up and found just the right spot." Arthur's fingers twisted and crooked and sent a flare of heat directly into his prick. "Stretching you and rubbing you until you couldn't stop begging for their cocks to fuck you."

Arthur kept stretching and rubbing until Merlin was harder than he had ever been in his life. If he'd been lying face up, he probably would have speared Arthur straight through.

He tried to brace himself against the feather ticking, bit down on his forearm with the effort not to clench tight around Arthur's fingers, to let Arthur loosen him. Already he felt both tightened and loosened, like Arthur's presence in his body was the only thing holding him together.

And he couldn't deny that the fingers weren't enough. But he'd be damned if he asked for more, let alone begged for it.

Sarcasm and manipulation, however, were fair game. "You're right, sire. This is all pretty standard stuff. If I can be honest, I was figuring on something a little more... upscale."

Arthur snorted and pulled his fingers out. "Really, Merlin, if you're ready to fuck, you could just have said so."

He kept his face down and tried not to let his breath surge hard enough to be visible to Arthur. His arse felt empty and almost distant from the rest of him even as his cock throbbed in waiting.

Then nothing happened. No cock pushed into his ass. No hands or tongues touched him anywhere.

He lifted his head and craned his neck to look back over his shoulder. Arthur was vigorously licking his palm, then rubbing it over his erection. It should have made him look silly, the way he was practically slobbering on himself, but Merlin was distracted--Arthur's erection looked even bigger than it had before.

Arthur looked up from his hand and paused with an arch look before reaching down to stroke himself wetter. "Really, I should be making you do this for me."

Merlin felt a slow smile spread through the heat in his face. "Is sucking your royal cock now part of my already onerous duties, then?"

"You did volunteer, I'll remind you," Arthur said, and really, it wasn't like Merlin could argue with that, though he was willing to try.

But then Arthur sighed in a strange way. Merlin craned his neck further to try to see Arthur's face, but Arthur stretched out full length over his back. He rested his chin on Merlin's shoulder, his breath hot on Merlin's neck. His cock was hot against Merlin's ass, but it was not anywhere close to penetrating him the way Merlin suddenly realized he would really like it to do.

He had no leverage to do anything about it. All he could do was wait while Arthur's hands slid under his chest to hold him, while his breathing slowed to match Arthur's.

After a few moments, when Merlin's arousal had settled into a low hum, Arthur shifted atop him and gave another of those strange sighs. "Are we done with this strange courtship ritual, Merlin?"

Merlin's eyelids fluttered in confusion and he tried again to see Arthur's face, to no avail. Courtship? Done? Now Arthur was going to change his mind? Now, with his cock hot and hard at Merlin's ass. "What? You don't want me?"

Arthur snorted in his ear. "I want you. I want very much to have you."

Something about the quality of the words made Merlin stop and consider them, then answer with equal deliberation. "You have me. You always have."

He waited with Arthur's breath gusting against his cheek. He waited until he felt Arthur's lips on his skin for the first time, brushing a soft kiss on his shoulder with a tenderness he had only found glimpses of in Arthur's eyes. Another kiss pressed warm to the side of his neck, then to his cheek. Merlin twisted his head back blindly until Arthur's lips found his and clung in a brief, aching kiss.

Then Arthur heaved a last sigh and slid his hands down to Merlin's hips. Merlin felt himself pulled into position, then the pressure of Arthur's entry. For an instant, he was back in a haystack, back against that tree, but then Arthur pushed deeper and the memories dissolved into nothing. They were nothing compared to this.

Merlin took a deep breath and held it, the better to concentrate on the slide of Arthur's cock. The slickness eased all but the least of the burning stretch. By the time Arthur settled, buried completely, the discomfort already edged on enjoyment. The withdrawal left a highly pleasant ache.

Arthur's second thrust hit that glorious spot deep inside Merlin's arse, previously unknown to all but Arthur. "What is that?" he gasped, pressing back hard against Arthur's hips.

"Feel something you liked, eh?" Arthur thrust again, at an even better angle. Merlin nearly choked from the jolt that went straight through his prick. "You mean your other vaunted lovers never found that nice little spot?"

"You're the one with something to prove." Merlin tried to sound unaffected, though it was hard when Arthur's cock kept moving inside him and making him choke on the air he was trying to breathe. "Less smirking and more fucking, if you please, m'lord."

"That answers my question." Arthur was starting to sound as ragged as Merlin as he kept thrusting, and Merlin gave up trying to talk at all as the pleasure built.

But the pleasure wasn't building enough. The angle was a tease, giving him sharp little bursts of arousal, but not enough depth for satisfaction. It must have been the same for Arthur, who pulled out long enough to drag Merlin fully onto his knees.

"Much... better," Merlin gasped, and those were the last words his pleasure-tortured brain managed to form before Arthur finished buggering the holy hell out of him.

When his orgasm finished crashing through him, he blinked stupidly down at the mess of come he'd just shot all over Arthur's sheets and pillows. Behind him, Arthur shuddered and cursed, and Merlin felt a matching mess of come start to slide down his thighs even while Arthur was still buried in him.

It hurt when Arthur finally pulled out of him. That last bit of fucking had hurt a bit, too, with the spit having worn off fairly early in the process. But it hadn't mattered then, and it didn't matter now. Freed from Arthur's cock, Merlin suddenly found himself rather wobbly and managed to tumble over onto his back without dislodging Arthur from around his legs.

Arthur remained upright for a few shaky seconds, panting and staring down at Merlin with his mouth slightly open and his cock still mostly hard. Then he bent and crawled forward over Merlin. He lowered himself onto Merlin's body and kissed him fiercely, mouth on mouth at last.

His warm sweaty body and warm wet mouth made Merlin hot all over again. When Merlin started squirming again, Arthur lifted his head with a smug look.

"Well?" he said. "Did I perform my duty as well as you did yours?"

Merlin considered the opportunity to deflate the royal ego a tad, but in the end he couldn't help conceding the point. It was fair enough, and he had always believed in giving credit where it was due.

"Indeed, sire." He grinned back at Arthur and arched his body until their flesh rubbed and slid together. "I'd call it a job well done."

Then he dragged Arthur down into the sheets to kiss him again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! You can [find me on Tumblr here](http://corilannam.tumblr.com/).


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